AFGHANISTAN: Wackenhut aids inquiry into its Afghanistan contractorCNN.comSeptember 3rd, 2009This week the Project on Government Oversight released damning allegations of deviant hazing at a camp for security guards in Afghanistan. Sparking questions from the State Department, POGO warned the problems are "posing a significant threat to the security of the embassy and its personnel."

US: New Hire Highlights Altegrity's Growing Ambitionby Thomas Heath, Washington Post August 17th, 2009For more than 12 years, Falls Church-based USIS quietly scrutinized the backgrounds of individuals who needed security clearance to work in the U.S. government or in the private sector. Now re-named Altegrity, the company has ambitions of securing government contracts for much more than investigation and data-collection.

US: DynCorp Billed U.S. $50 Million Beyond Costs in Defense Contractby V. Dion Haynes, Washington Post August 12th, 2009A Defense Department auditor, appearing before the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, testified Tuesday that DynCorp International billed the government $50 million more than the amount specified in a contract to provide dining facilities and living quarters for military personnel in Kuwait.

Mission Essential, Translators Expendableby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatch August 11th, 2009Ohio-based Mission Essential Personnel supplies over 2,000
translators to the Pentagon in Afghanistan, who play a critical role in protecting local and military lives. These interpreters are a key communications link. But if they are wounded or killed, they are often left to fend for themselves. This special features video of CorpWatch interviews with three Afghan whistleblowers, recorded in country in April. Click through to hear their story.

Damming Magdalena: Emgesa Threatens Colombian Communitiesby Jonathan Luna, Special to CorpWatch July 21st, 2009Near the town of La Jagua, overlooking the Magdalena River, the landscape is dotted with concrete markers declaring the land, river, and everything else a “public utility” that Colombia has given to the energy company Emgesa as part of the Quimbo Hydroelectric Project. A construction permit was granted in May, with the dam scheduled for full operation by 2014.